The biggest rival to the Apple Watch clashed with Apple this week

Steve Kovach

Jun. 5, 2015, 3:13 PM

The new Pebble Time watch with its companion app on iPhone. Christian Storm/Business Insider Pebble, the startup that makes smartwatches for iPhone and Android devices, blamed Apple earlier this week for delaying its iPhone app, but the software is now live in the App Store.

In a post on its Kickstarter page Wednesday, Pebble said the Pebble Time app, which allows users to connect the new Pebble Time watch to the iPhone, had been under review at Apple since May 22, which is longer than the typical review period.

An update to the the original Pebble app, which connects older Pebble watch models to the iPhone, had been under review at Apple for over a month.

The Pebble Time began shipping to users this week. The Android version of the Pebble Time app was in the Google Play app store in time for the first customers to use it. But iPhone users couldn't use the Pebble Time they purchased until Apple approved the companion app.

The implication in Pebble's Kickstarter post from Wednesday was that Apple seemed to be purposefully delaying the Pebble apps. In an update to its Kickstarter page Friday, Pebble thanked its customers for their patience. However, the company didn't say why the app was delayed. It's unclear if Apple was purposefully delaying the Pebble app, or if there was some sort of mixup on Pebble's end.

In April, some third-party Pebble app developers complained that Apple was denying Pebble apps under a rule in the developer guidelines that says apps can't mention rival platforms. Pebble wasn't technically a rival to an Apple platform until April 24 when the Apple Watch launched.

However, an Apple spokesperson told Business Insider at the time that Pebble apps would be allowed on iPhone, so the controversy appeared to stop there. At least one of the Pebble apps Apple initially denied was later approved.